Nurse-Led Detoex Primary Care

The article I chose is “Nurse-led detox in primary care. In my paper I will be discussing how alcohol detoxification works in London in a primary care setting. In the case of this article the primary care setting is considered working together with a nurse specialist in a community detox center. In most cases a referral is made by the primary care physician to the nurse specialist. There are two different referral categories’ that are used in London. The first referral is for patients with complex physical needs where alcohol is a major contributing factor to physical elements (ex. jaundice, ascites, and liver failure). The second referral is for the dependent drinkers, which are considered people who drink every day. When a patient
There is a criteria that has to be met in order to do the program as well as exclusion that don’t allow a patient to do the program. In order to do the program a patient must have a stable living environment, with social support, the patient has to agree to attend aftercare sessions with nurse specialist, and have no severe physical health problems. The exclusions to the program include a patient with a severe physical health problem, unstable living arrangements, no additional support, a high number of previous failed community detoxes, and evidence of poly-drug use with a chaotic lifestyle. Once the patient has met the program criteria an assessment is done to find out the history of their current alcohol pattern within two weeks, how much they drink per day/week, how long they have been drinking, previous treatments, and any history of physical and mental health problems. The nurse specialist will include in her assessment a physical examination of the patient and the ordering of a liver function
The patient has to be alcohol free for at least nine hours before starting the programs. The program starts the patient on a medication called Chlordiazepoxide which they start to decrease on the fifth day of treatment. Along with taking the medication the patient must attend aftercare sessions in which they meet with their case worker to establish whether the patient has been drinking alcohol, discussing any feelings that the patient may be having about the treatment program, making sure the patient is following their medication regimen, and developing a plan for support and aftercare sessions for when detox is completed. Once detox is completed the patient must follow up with their case worker within in one week to discuss how things are going and to make sure the patient is going to daily aftercare